3.06.2016

Read These Blogs


Asian-American jab at Oscars reveals deeper diversity woes: The outcry over that now-infamous Asian joke at the 88th Academy Awards has illuminated the frustration over the lagging progress of Asian American visibility in Hollywood movies.

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What it's like to be the butt of the joke. One of the kids at the Oscars speaks out.: Eight-year-old Estie Kung was one of the actors cast as "accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers." But neither she nor her mother knew that the three kids were going to become the butt of a joke about Asians.

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However you feel about Chris Rock's Asian joke, it takes guts to talk openly about race: "For the Kungs, this wasn't an easy decision nor was it a publicity stunt. If anyone ever questions how hard it is to come out publicly and speak about racism -- whatever you think of Chris Rock's joke -- let this be an example."

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Hollywood's Asian Punching Bags: Why There Shouldn't Be a 'Safe' Minority to Joke About: So Chris Rock trotted out a bunch of Asian kids during the Oscars, while Ali G compared Asians to Minions. Emma Stone played an Asian character in a film. Where does it end?

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Here's what I've learned about #NotYourMule: Journalist/activist Jose Antonio Vargas clarifies his controversial Oscar night tweets about inclusion that set off the hashtag #NotYourMule.

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Remember when Aaliyah and Jet Li fell in love in 'Romeo Must Die'?: What the interracial romance in Romeo Must Die meant for Dolly Li, and how that relates to this year's Oscars: "No, it's not Chris Rock's job to uplift and empower Asian-Americans (or any other minority, for that matter). But to insult them while demanding equal opportunities for other underrepresented groups is hypocritical and counterproductive."

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Community center meant to unite L.A.'s Korean Americans has become a battleground: What was meant to pull Korean Americans together as a community has become the site of a power struggle -- with lawsuits, armed guards, locksmiths, and the LAPD all involved.

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How Asian Americans climbed the ranks and changed the political landscape: Over the last two decades, the number of Asian Americans seizing opportunities to work on the staff of elected officials at local, state and federal levels has expanded dramatically. And from the ranks of those ranks, a cadre of Asian American political leaders has emerged.

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Racialeyes: Racialeyes is a project dedicated to further understand the Asian-Brasilian community in Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. It was born out of a desire to dispel harmful stereotypes and educate people about the diversity and richness of the Asian diaspora in Brasil.

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Discovering a Forgotten Photographer Elmer Ogawa: Elmer Ogawa: After hours with Seattle's forgotten photographer is a biography of an almost entirely unknown figure. An interview with Todd Matthews, who explains the process of gathering materials for the book.

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Why I Love Watching And Reading About White People Having Sex: In romance novels and porn, white people are free to fall in love and have sex without worrying about racial representation.

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Why grief is political for poet Muriel Leung: Poet Muriel Leung's "All My Specters in a Box in Terrified Light" grapples with the history and failings of the "model minority" myth as an Asian American and queer person. Listen to a reading of it here.

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THROUGH THE FIRE: Destination of Publication: traci kato-kiriyama of Vigilant Love, a growing coalition and solidarity community against violence and Islamophobia, offers a creative nonfiction piece in this Rafu Shimpo column.

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Adopted: Nicole Chung is guest editing an adoption essay series -- featuring several essays by Asian American adoptees -- at Catapult, running throughout the month of March.

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Wherefore Asian America? An excerpt from the introduction of Karen L. Ishizuka's Serve the People: Making Asian America in the Long Sixties, a groundbreaking new history of the Asian American movement.

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Aziz Ansari Goes to India: Actor and comedian Azia Ansari was raised in the American South on a diet of spicy curry and fried chicken. Hoping to make sense of his place in the world, he returned to his roots, and let his stomach lead the way.

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11 Things You Wanted to Know About My Turban But Were Too Afraid to Ask: Rupinder Singh, founder of American Turban, social justice fellow at the Sikh Coalition, and owner of more than twenty turbans, offers some answers to what are some uncomfortable FAQs.

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One Sikh Girl's Struggle to be Accepted as American: Ohio State University student Ravleen Kaur recounts how bullying affected her childhood as a Desi growing up in Louisiana.

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Ashok and Hua Freestyle in a Freezing Greenpoint Park: Journalist and music critic Hua Hsu talks to Ashok Kondabolu about the best and worst of his dad's record collection and how his fascination with rap beef inspired his upcoming book.

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A Conscious Verse in Diversity: Exclusive Chat with "Master of None" Co-creator Alan Yang: Master of None co-creator Alan Yang talks about the show's premise for refreshing material, what it takes to produce a series, and offers some advice to aspiring creatives.

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THE ASIAN GUIDE TO SXSW 2016: A guide to Asian and Asian American artists to watch out for at SXSW.

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The Walking Dead: Steven Yeun reveals his favorite zombie kill: Steven Yeun has killed soooo many zombies on The Walking Dead. Which one was his favorite scene to shoot?

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China's First Supermodel on Changing Standards of Beauty: Supermodel Liu Wen talks about how she is not perceived as "traditionally" beautiful in China, but she's seen the perception of Asian beauty change.


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